“Please don’t call Jason that,” Percy sputtered. He felt his cheeks warm, though it felt more like his face was on fire, rather than just red. The A.I. smirked, instead of saying anything. Of course. It was the kind of reaction that, frankly, Percy half-expected from an A.I. that had Jason’s name all over it.

Percy tried his best to ignore the shimmering holographic avatar of Scipio, but it was a bit difficult. He looked around, eyes adjusting to the dim light. He wondered where his clothes were—if he even had any at this point. The search, ultimately, proved to be fruitless. “Scipio,” said Percy, relenting with a sigh, “Where can I find clothes?”

There was a soft ding that filtered in through the speakers in the room, and a holographic projection outlined the doors of a closet that Percy felt stupid for missing. The doors swung open on their own, revealing an array of standard-issue jumpsuits—ones with Scipio’s emblem on the shoulder. “Thank you, Scipio,” said Percy, gingerly pushing himself off of the bed and onto the floor.

Jason looked Nico in the eye. He was trying his best not to look as frazzled and desperate as he was, but he wasn’t having much luck. “Tell Cerberus to get me Leo,” he said. “I need him to break into ARKIII’s data banks.”

Nico raised an eyebrow at Jason. Will was about to say something, but the couple’s neural links blinked briefly and Will shut his mouth. “We need to find out when, how, and most especially why Zeus did this to me,” he said, frantically.

Jason wanted to sound calm and collected—like he was most of the time—but from the looks on Nico and Will’s faces, he could tell that they weren’t convinced by his tone at all. “Please,” Jason pleaded. “I need to know.”

Nico looked about him, silently cursing the climate of the Southron realm. The heat of the early morning sun was already enough to make sweat drip from his brow despite the relative shade of his current circumstance.

Truthfully, Nico was thankful that his father had planned this stunt for early in the morning. He was not so sure that he would have survived the heat if Aides had been insistent on starting the joust at noon.

Nico noticed that the knights that were supposed to participate in his tournament were spending the early morning milling about, talking to each other, and making acquaintances.

“What on earth are you talking about, Will?” said Jason. He was straining his neck away from the blade. It had already nicked him in a few uncomfortable places, and he could feel blood trickling down his bare chest. “I do not have nanites in my come. Don’t you think that’s the kind of thing a guy would notice?” he hissed.

Will looked at Jason for a moment, head tilted in curiosity. The neural link on Will’s left temple briefly glowed cyan, in tandem with Jason’s. He sighed, the anger dissolving from his frame. He patted Nico on the shoulder and placed a hand, gently, on Nico’s wrist. “He’s not lying.”

With a huff, Nico removed his hand from Jason’s chest. A heartbeat later, reluctantly, Nico withdrew the knife. He tucked the knife back in its hidden sheath on his belt. “Come on,” said Will. The doctor grabbed Jason by the elbow. “Let’s take this somewhere else.”

Jason waited for Percy to follow his orders. He watched the boy expectantly as the moments ticked by, waiting for those soft lips that had been wrapped around his cock to close and swallow his come. He felt a surge of anger when he realized that there was still some resistance in the boy.

Jason felt, in some small part of him, that he was going too far. However, truth was, the way that Percy quivered, cock dripping pre-come like a faucet, had already pushed him far beyond the point of no return. His earlier concerns about consent had been cast aside, and frankly, since Percy seemed to be so receptive, he didn’t think he needed to be concerned.

“Are you going to swallow, or not?” said Jason. There was a twinge of genuine disappointment to his voice along with impatience. Jason felt the boy tremble; the corners of his lips turned up in a self-satisfied smirk. His words had had the desired effect. “Do you need help with that?” said Jason. Slowly, abashedly, the rosy red colour on his cheeks brightening, Percy nodded. “Fine,” said Jason. “I’ll help.”